1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to the custom manufacturing of fitted apparel and more particularly to an apparatus and method for manufacturing custom tailored apparel using multiple try-on apparels and a system.
2. Background of the Invention
For years, a basic problem in making fitted apparel in a cost effective manufacturing system has been determining how to capture a person's body dimensions so that a piece of clothing can be constructed to fit that person well and without undue expense for the manufacturer, retailer or consumer. Apparel designed for three-dimensional objects such as a human body, can be complex to make, since changes in one dimension, such as rise or waist, in the case of pants, may require changes in hip dimensions in order to insure a fit.
Many consumers, particularly women, have trouble finding volume manufactured or ready-made apparel such as blue jeans, that fit to their satisfaction. One cause of this is that the traditional sizing system for women used by volume manufacturers is essentially a single dimensional one developed in 1941. Based on statistical averages, this sizing system results in sizes represented as one abstract dimension, such as size 6 or size 8. Minor variations of this have been added, over time to permit petite or plus sizes, still with one abstract dimension within the petite or plus size subclass, such as size 6 petite or size 6 long or short. Sizes in men's apparel such as pants, shirts and suits are not much different, although shirt sizes may be stocked by neck or arm length dimensions and a few combinations of standard sizes. Generally speaking, the same is true for most other types or configurations of apparel such as footwear, gloves, coats, dresses and so on. While it is theoretically possible to stock a large number of varying standard sizes, to offer more options to a consumer, the costs of maintaining large inventories make that prohibitive. Consequently, only a few standard sizes are offered in most retail stores for consumers.
Nevertheless, in just the simple case of women's pants, there are literally thousands of combinations of waist, hips, rise and inseam measurements that are possible for a pair of blue jeans if a large population is to be fitted. Only one particular combination is likely to be a good fit for any given person. If any one of a person's dimensions are different from the statistical averages, fitting will be harder. If waist size is narrower than the average or the customer desires pants having a shorter rise, it will be difficult to get a good fit from ready-to wear clothing.
In a sample of 500 women measured in a survey, only 11 of the 500, or about 2%, had exact matches to the industry standard sizes.
Hence, many consumers reject ready-to wear and turn to custom fitted clothing. In order to make something custom fit, one must capture key body dimensions, then construct the garment. Four traditional ways have been used in the past to accomplish this:
1. Use a tape measure to measure the person for key dimensions, and then use those dimensions to build the garment.
2. Place the actual garment that the consumer will wear on the person and make tailoring adjustments to that garment.
3. Use an adjustable garment to capture body dimensions.
4. Use some sort of mechanical, optical or video device to capture body dimensions.
The first two approaches used together constitute classical custom tailoring. While generally producing a good fit, the skilled labor of the tailor or seamstress required for traditional custom tailoring makes it too costly for manufacturers and retailers of ready to wear clothing to use, and too expensive for many consumers.
Adjustable try-on garments or patterns are known in the art and have been used to address the problem. This may also require skilled labor at the retail site, in order for the adjustments to be made properly. Whether only one adjustable garment is used or even several adjustable garments in the standard sizes, a considerable amount of labor and expense also remains in the cutting and manufacturing side, since each garment must be uniquely cut to the dimensions adjusted on each customer. The use of computers can speed up the collection of the information that needs to be transmitted about the adjustments to be made, but the unique cutting requirements are still costly and time-consuming. Even where computers are used to create a scaled pattern based on actual measurements, the costs and time for uniquely cutting to those dimensions usually remain significant.
Materials such as denim, leather, vinyl or fur or others that are difficult to work with, complicate the problem further. If the garment is not cut satisfactorily the first time, it may be prohibitively expensive to adjust it to fit if the customer is dissatisfied with the fit of the actual garment.
Hence, other attempted improvements in the area stem from the use of optical or electrical sensors and a computer to improve accuracy of the measurements. In this type of scheme, the optical or electronic device is used to sense and capture the measurements of a person's body. In one system, the individual wears a special garment having measuring devices that can be "read" by the system. This can be combined with a computer system such as one which creates or scales a special pattern based on such readings. Thus, the measurements can be taken or made interactively and accurately, but each garment must still be cut to the unique dimensions so ascertained.
While this improves accuracy and collection of the custom information, it, too, does not solve the remaining problems and costs of unique cutting and assembly facing the volume manufacturer. Volume manufacturers may make as many as 60,000 or 70,000 pairs of pants a week in factories around the world. Costs have typically been kept low with the use of uniform sizes, which lowers or eliminates the need for specially skilled labor, and specialized, unique cutting and tracking. Custom tailoring done according to the traditional methods is inconsistent with high volume manufacturing and low costs.
Finally, there is a significant subjective element to a sense or feel of fit that varies from customer to customer. For example, two customers whose measurements are exactly the same, may have different tastes regarding looseness or tightness of fit, with one preferring a looser garment and the other a tighter garment. Or, two customers with identical measurements could differ in their style preferences, with one preferring to wear a pair of denim jeans low on the hips and the other higher. In order to conform to a customer's subjective preferences, one or more of the other dimensions may need to be adjusted since they are interrelated. If only objective measurements are used for the custom garment without an actual fitting, these subjective elements may frequently cause a garment constructed only from objective data to be returned by the consumer. A high return or reject rate is costly for both retailers and manufacturers.